Despair for the McCanns as French Madeleine 'sighting' is officially ruled out

Last updated at 12:53 01 March 2008

A reported sighting of Madeleine McCann in southern France has been officially ruled out, it was confirmed today.

Gerry McCann revealed that French police have established that the young girl seen by a Dutch tourist in Montpellier last month was not his missing daughter.

He said it was "disappointing" that it took so long for this to happen after "widespread" media reporting of the sighting.

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Heartbreak: Parents Gerry and Kate McCann

Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday flat in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year while her parents dined with friends nearby.

Over the past 10 months, witnesses have claimed to have spotted the missing girl all over Europe and North Africa, but so far every tip-off has proved a dead end.

Missing: Madeleine McCann has not been seen since May last year

The latest sighting was reported by 18-year-old Dutch student Melissa Fiering, who said she saw Madeleine at a service station restaurant in Montpellier on February 15.

She told a Dutch newspaper she was certain it was the British child because she had a distinctive mark in her eye and looked startled when her name was called.

Initially there was doubt about whether CCTV footage from the restaurant was clear enough for French police to determine whether or not the child was Madeleine, but they have now ruled out the possibility.

In his latest blog on the official Find Madeleine website, Mr McCann wrote: "It has been a relatively quiet week for us.

"We did hear from the UK police that the French have officially ruled out the reported sighting of Madeleine in Montpellier.

"It is disappointing that it took so long, particularly after the widespread coverage the reported sighting received in the media."

The CCTV footage is believed to show Miss Fiering in shock at seeing the little girl with a "tall, swarthy" man at a service station in Montpellier lon February 15.

She claimed the man quickly bundled the girl out of the restaurant on the A9 motorway into a car.

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False lead: The service station where the mistaken Madeleine sighting was made

But French police have tracked down the man after the number plate of his car appeared on the video footage.

A police spokesman said: "We located the driver after his number plate appeared on video footage taken at the service station provided a plausible explanation of what he was doing there with a young child.